PigRickman wrote: ↑July 13, 2019, 5:26 pmAustralia has the luxary of being signficantly better than every other nation, so i dont think Ponga not being a natural 14 should preclude him from being named. He's one of the best players in the game, and if healthy, he is deserving of an aussie rep jumper
I'm not so sure about that anymore with the mass retirements we've had in the spine positions. What we've got available now is a few steps down so can see us coming back to the immediate tier below us.
If Ponga was playing and succeeding in the halves I'd have him there in a hearbeat, aside from that I think you'd get better value playing Munster or even Jack there.
I think I would rather have Ponga on the wing than some of the names being thrown around (ie Gagai). There should be a spot for him somewhere if fit and I think Mal will find one.
Canberra Raiders Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton named in Kangaroos Merit squad
NSW's State of Origin triumph has been reflected in the Kangaroos Origin Merit Team, with Australian coach Mal Meninga selecting 11 Blues players in the 17-man side.
1. James Tedesco
2. Blake Ferguson
3. Jack Wighton
4. Tom Trojevic
5. Josh Addo-Carr
6. Cameron Munster
7. Daly Cherry-Evans
8. David Klemmer
9. Damien Cook
10. Josh Papalii
11. Boyd Cordner
12. Felise Kaufusi
13. Jake Trbojevic
14. Ben Hunt
15. Paul Vaughan
16. Cameron Murray
17. Josh McGuire
The spiral of silence refers to the idea that when people fail to speak, the price of speaking rises. As the price to speak rises, still fewer speak out, which further causes the price to rise, so that fewer people yet will speak out, until a whole culture or nation is silenced. This is what happened in Germany.
If you do not speak, you are not being neutral, but are contributing to the success of the thing you refuse to name and condemn.
